An Empty Vessel/Plot Details
Cutscenes Game Script :{| border="0" width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" |- BGCOLOR="#FFA500" !An Empty Vessel - Aht Urhgan Whitegate |- BGCOLOR="#FFEC8B" |'Waoud:' Ah, a visitor from foreign shores. Greetings. I am Waoud, a humble seer of Al Zahbi. Waoud: I divine from your appearance that you hail from the western continent... A place we here know as the “Middle Lands.” An adventurer, yes? Waoud: The Empire of Aht Urhgan recruits mercenaries on a grand scale, as she does all things. Our meager city has become a scurrying anthill of activity. Waoud: But you did not come to hear simple gossip. Destiny brought you to me, and it is of destiny I shall speak. I require less coin from adventurers for my divinations, considering their...uncertain employment. Waoud: Most excellent. I shall now proceed to ask you several questions. Waoud: My divinations follow a somewhat unorthodox process. Answer truthfully and all shall be revealed. Waoud: What is destiny? Waoud: Does the accomplishment of a goal require sacrifice and hardship? Waoud: You hold in your hands a forbidden scroll. Reading it will bring you untold wisdom, but cost all that you own. Waoud: If the loss of one life would save ten thousand, would you offer yourself without hesitation? Waoud: Would you choose a tumultuous life where fame or fortune were attainable, or a tranquil life where both were forever beyond your reach? Waoud: You stand on the precipice between life and death. Would you choose to live life as a beast if it would save you from falling into the shadowy abyss of the underworld? Waoud: A companion in battle turns against you, raising a weapon to attack. Waoud: A loved one is afflicted with a terrible illness and has little time left to live. You are asked to end that life by your own hand. Waoud: You are in the midst of a fierce battle. The enemy lying at your feet was once a friend. His breath is ragged and weak. Waoud: A superior to whom you owe a great debt orders you to act in a way that violates your sense of justice. Waoud: Thank you for your patience. The answers you have provided will be most helpful in my divination. Let us look upon what has been revealed... Waoud: Sky, Flame, Gale, Stone, and Spring. I see all five serpent symbols... This sign heralds a turning point in your destiny. Waoud: A time will come when you must choose one of two paths. The road you walk will be entirely up to you... Waoud: Even I cannot ascertain what awaits you at the end of each path. Yet one must be chosen nonetheless. Waoud: This choice cannot be avoided... Waoud: ...My divination is at an end. Have I unsettled you? Waoud: Ahahaha. A seer I may be, but I suggest you take these divinations with a light heart--no matter what the signs suggest. Waoud: Should a sign prove to be the gentle push that was needed, then consider it a blessing. Waoud: Now comes the matter of payment... I am told that an object of incredible rarity can be found in the Middle Lands. Waoud: Would you consider bringing me this prize in place of common coin? Waoud: To be truthful, the one who wishes to gaze upon this object is my own bedridden mother. A final wish from a curious old lady... Waoud: Do not concern yourself with haste. My dear mother clings to life with surprising ferocity. Waoud: The object of which I speak is precious in the Near East, but worth precious little elsewhere... Waoud: The treasure I would have you seek is a precious stone. It is said to be as red as blood and found in a land of geysers. Waoud: The discovery of this object is apparently made easier under very particular conditions, but I am not sufficiently familiar with the geography of your continent to even know where to start. Waoud: I cannot provide you with the name of this treasure, but perhaps with your knowledge... Waoud: ...My apologies. You do not need to hear the woes of some street-corner fortuneteller. Waoud: In fact, I shall not ask payment of you this day. And please forget my unreasonable request. May fortune smile upon you... |- BGCOLOR="#FFA500" !An Empty Vessel - Aht Urhgan Whitegate |- BGCOLOR="#FFEC8B" |'Waoud:' Are you sure of this? A thousand thousand blessings on your house! I am speechless with gratitude... Waoud: Again, my apologies! I know not the name of this object, but I do remember some clues... Waoud: The treasure I would have you seek is a precious stone. It is said to be as red as blood and found in a land of geysers. Waoud: The discovery of this object is apparently made easier under very particular conditions, but I cannot provide you with any more details. My original source of information returned home to the Middle Lands before I could learn more. Waoud: But with your knowledge of that continent, you may have a chance... Waoud: May the winds of fortune guide you! |- BGCOLOR="#FFA500" !An Empty Vessel - Aht Urhgan Whitegate |- BGCOLOR="#FFEC8B" |'Waoud:' Yes! This is the wondrous Dangruf Stone the traveler spoke of! Waoud: Ah... Waoud: To be perfectly honest, it was the mother of a colleague who wished to gaze upon this treasure... Waoud: I am afraid I have another favor to ask you... Would you consent to deliver this to my colleague? I cannot leave the city, you see... Waoud: A thousand thousand apologies. Waoud: My colleague is currently part of an Imperial patrol that apprehends desecrators of the ruins found in the Aydeewa Subterrane. Waoud: The Aydeewa Subterrane runs beneath Bhaflau Thickets. May the winds of fortune guide you. |- BGCOLOR="#FFA500" !An Empty Vessel - Aydeewa Subterrane |- BGCOLOR="#FFEC8B" |'Yasfel:' Ah... The new potential... Yasfel: I am Yasfel of the Immortals. Yasfel: I regret to inform you that the Dangruf Stone you have brought me was nothing more than a ruse. Yasfel: We merely wished to test the limits of your innermost desire for power. Yasfel: Yes... We needed to gauge your “suitability”... Yasfel: You undertook what was, in essence, an unreasonable request, and completed the task admirably. Such commitment is worthy of praise... Yasfel: But it all comes back to your search for power... Yasfel: I stand before you as one who holds the only key to unlocking your potential. Yasfel: Naturally, this power comes at a price. Something precious will be lost to you. Yasfel: Though you may not even notice it is missing... Yasfel: If you are willing to pay the price... Yasfel: If you truly desire the power that a blue mage wields... Yasfel: Take my hand... (If you decline) Yasfel: You choose the safer path. Yasfel: So be it... Yasfel: I will ask you one more question. Do you feel any regrets in your decision? (If you accept) Yasfel: Your life...now belongs to the Empress and the Empire... |- BGCOLOR="#FFA500" !An Empty Vessel - Somewhere in the Imperial Ward |- BGCOLOR="#FFEC8B" |'???:' ... The potential is ready for your inspection. ???: Her cobalt levels were very low, and I was afraid this would be another failure. But she somehow clawed her way back from the edge of death. ???: Hmph. Her answers were not entirely truthful. ???: You were the one who transplanted this! ???: This... ...loathsome Ahriman lens! ???: Hold your tongues. She awakens... Raubahn: Congratulations, (Player). Welcome to the ranks of the blue mages. Raubahn: However, at this moment you are but an empty vessel--a base creature, weaker than the most ordinary mortal. Raubahn: A blue mage must wrest her strength and vitality from her enemies. Raubahn: Show me your hunger for unrivaled power! Raubahn: This is the only guidance I shall give you. Wathdeeh: If you prove your worth, you may one day find a place among the Immortals. |- BGCOLOR="#FFA500" !An Empty Vessel - Aht Urhgan Whitegate |- BGCOLOR="#FFEC8B" |'Waoud:' Do you wish to gaze upon the tapestry that fate has woven for you? I require less coin from adventurers for my divinations, considering their...uncertain employment. |- BGCOLOR="#FFA500" !An Empty Vessel - ??? |- BGCOLOR="#FFEC8B" |'Raubahn:' You had no reason to return here... Raubahn: Why do you stand before me...? Raubahn: You have made the sacrifice and joined the ranks of the blue mages. Raubahn: What more could you desire? You are a vessel, newly made... Raubahn: How you fill that vessel is entirely up to you. Raubahn: As you perfect the arts of the blue mage, you will feel blue magic taking root in your very bones. Raubahn: However, attempting to harness a power that overflows your ability to hold it is a sure road to destruction... Raubahn: You would do well to remember that. Raubahn: So what are you to do? Raubahn: Hehe... The answer is simple. Grow in strength until your body can withstand the power you desire. The vessel you have become can be tempered and expanded. Raubahn: You were told: “A blue mage must wrest her strength and vitality from her enemies.” Raubahn: Show me the depths of your desire for power... Raubahn: If you can uncover the strength within you to rival my insight... ...But I have said too much. Raubahn: (Player). Go forth and devour the essence of your foes.